Classroom Resources | Grades 3 – 12 | Calendar Activity |&nbsp April 28Author Lois Duncan was born on this date in 1934.
Mysteries are shared with students for them to solve and brainstorm the attributes of a good mystery. Small groups then compose short mysteries using the Mystery Cube.

Classroom Resources | Grades 8 – 12 | Calendar Activity |&nbsp February 9Author Matt de la Peña was born today.
Students use an essay by de la Peña as a model for writing their own literacy autobiography.

Classroom Resources | Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | MinilessonAvalanche, Aztek, or Bravada? A Connotation Minilesson
Students examine familiar car names for underlying connotations then proceed through a series of steps, increasing their control over language, until they select words with powerful connotations in their own writing.

Classroom Resources | Grades 5 – 12 | Calendar Activity |&nbsp December 23Avi was born in 1937.
After reading Nothing But the Truth, students explore a current event topic and write their own short work of fiction in a similar multigenre format.

Classroom Resources | Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard LessonA World of Readers: Libraries Around the World
Bookworms will enjoy the bytes they find in this lesson as they research and share information about online library services in places around the world.

Classroom Resources | Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard LessonBecoming History Detectives Using Shakespeare's Secret
Is the case closed on the authorship of Shakespeare's plays? Student history detectives explore the evidence for and against one of the possible alternatives, Edward deVere, using the novel Shakespeare's Secret plus a variety of online sources.

Professional Development | Grades K – 12 | Professional Library | BookBe Fabulous: The Reading Teacher's Guide to Reclaiming Your Happiness in the Classroom
Scoggin merges her straight-talking blogger persona, Mrs. Mimi, with her years of research to help you rediscover who you are and redefine the type of literacy teacher you want to become. At the heart of this book is teacher happiness and empowermentóreconnect with your inner fabulous to give the best possible literacy instruction to your students.

Professional Development | Grades K – 8 | Professional Library | JournalBeing and Becoming: Multilingual Writers' Practices
This study examines the writing practices taken on and negotiated by multilingual class members within two multiage elementary classrooms.